A new season of City Kidz Saturdays means a new season of memory moments. For the children, the official memory moments are the slogans or rhymes at the end of each teaching segment. This past Saturday the memory moment was “The bigger I get, the taller I grow, I can trust God’s plan, that’s what I know.”
After they finished repeating the memory moment a little boy turned to a volunteer and asked, “Is that true?”
‘Yes, it’s true,’ she said as her heart melted.
She looked around the auditorium, just as another game began. Hundreds of children were cheering and yelling as the players raced towards the finish line. It’s then she noticed something else, every so often there was a child sitting down with their arms crossed, not participating, seemingly lost in their own world. Perhaps they were still struggling to let go, wanting desperately to be a kid, but still feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. They’re the tough ones, the ones that need an extra smile or nudge to let them know it is o.k to be themselves. For so many of our kids, fear and doubt continually cloud their hearts.
The good thing is, at City Kidz, a kid can be a kid. Over time, even the tough ones begin to crack, hope invades and light shines through. As someone who has volunteered for a while, I have the privilege to witness the change. They get bigger and they grow taller and their confidence increases. Soon they are jumping, smiling, singing and shouting along. I’m reminded that every Saturday kids are impacted just by a smile or a high five. They soon feel that no matter what they do there is someone who loves them for who they are.
I guess for now on, memory moments will have a whole new meaning.
